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July 04, 2026
 

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John Revill
Swiss voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Bern, Switzerland, on Sunday as the country votes on an anti-immigration proposal to cap the country's population and another referendum on restricting access to conscientious objection to military service.
WORLD / Politics
Jun 14, 2026
Switzerland votes on proposal to cap population at 10 million
The unprecedented scheme to dictate population levels by law sits alongside burgeoning efforts by the ​political right in Europe to set tougher curbs on immigration.
A Hotel Belvoir staff member sets a table on a terrace overlooking Lake Zurich, ahead of a June 14 vote on a plan backed by the right‑wing party to limit population growth to 10 million inhabitants, in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, on May 27.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 8, 2026
Businesses fear for economy if Swiss vote to cap population at 10 million
The Swiss population had grown to 9.1 million by the end of 2025, from 7.3 million when free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union was introduced in 2002.
Kremlin chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky walks out the InterContinental hotel on the day of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, in Geneva on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 19, 2026
Ukraine dissatisfied with ‘difficult’ talks but U.S. sees ‘meaningful progress’
At the conclusion, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations said they would meet again, without providing a date.
A woman holds a Ukrainian flag at a protest near the United Nations office, on the day of U.S.-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Geneva on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 18, 2026
Ukraine and Russia hold talks in Geneva as Trump puts pressure on Kyiv
Ahead of the negotiations, Russian airstrikes severely damaging the power network in the ​southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa.
Ukrainian service members fire a Multiple Launch Rocket System toward Russian troops near the front-line town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Dec. 9.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 17, 2026
Land in focus at Geneva peace talks between Russia and Ukraine
Russia is demanding that ​Ukraine cede the remaining 20% of the eastern region of Donetsk that Moscow has failed to capture — something Kyiv refuses to do.
People lay flowers and candles at a makeshift memorial site in front of a school in Graz, southeastern Austria, on Thursday, a day after 11 people died in a school shooting.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / ANALYSIS
Jun 16, 2025
Killings at European schools fan concern U.S. problem is spreading
The spate of school shootings is increasing momentum for tougher gun and security laws as well as more policing of social media.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 7, 2023
Swiss neutrality on the line as arms-for-Ukraine debate heats up
A pro-Ukraine shift in the public and political mood is pressuring the government to end a ban on exports of Swiss weapons to war zones.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2022
Neutral Switzerland leans closer to NATO in response to Russia
The Defense Ministry is drawing up a report on security options that include joint military exercises with NATO countries and ‘backfilling’ munitions.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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